Kolkata, July 19 : Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Friday said her party would never support Narendra Modi, likely to be projected by the BJP as its prime ministerial candidate in the 2014 general elections.

"We have never supported Narendra Modi. We will never support him," Banerjee said while addressing a panchayat poll rally at Rampurhat in Birbhum district.

New Delhi, July 15 : BJP leader Yashwant Sinha Monday said that his remarks on the 2002 Gujarat riots were not meant to advise Narendra Modi or the BJP, but were a message for the entire political class.

Sinha Sunday said that Modi's remarks on the riots would take the focus away from the issue of corruption.

"If there is any advise, it is for the entire political class. Actually the economic situation is very serious. The country is in serious trouble, the rupee is falling, industrial production is in negative," Sinha told reporters here.

Shillong, July 12 : Narendra Modi has "all the qualities of a prime minister", former Lok Sabha speaker Purno Agitok Sangma said Friday adding that the Gujarat chief minister will become prime minister provided the BJP has the numbers in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

"He (Modi) has popular support in the Hindi-speaking belt, but is yet to reach out to people in the South (India). If the BJP comes to power, I am sure he will be the next prime minister, as he also has all the qualities of a prime minister," Sangma told journalists here.

"Hemant Soren has desired to take oath around 10 a. m. Saturday. Governor (Syed Ahmad) has agreed to the request. It will be announced officially once the president approves lifting of the president's rule in the state," a source in the Raj Bhavan told IANS.

Hemant Soren Tuesday staked claim to forming the government, handing over to the governor letters of support of 43 legislators in the 82-member house.

New Delhi, July 5 : The opposition Friday slammed the government again over the food security ordinance that was approved by the union cabinet Wednesday, calling it a political move before elections.

"Successive governments failed repeatedly in addressing the problem of malnutrition. It is a shame. Now they are bringing this through ordinance. What were they doing for four years?" Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Brinda Karat told reporters.

"Were they sleeping all this time? Why are they blaming the opposition now?" she said.

New Delhi, July 4 : As the opposition cornered the government over the the food security ordinance, union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Manish Tewari Thursday said only crocodile tears were being shed over parliamentary propriety.

The principal opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Left parties and several other parties have raised objections to the government's move to bring in an ordinance on the food security bill without facing parliament.

Panaji, July 3 : Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said Wednesday that Gujarat Chief Minister was no "Rambo" but a "feku" (pretentious) and called Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrkar a fascist.

Digvijaya Singh, who was recently appointed the All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in-charge of the party's affairs in Goa, was speaking to reporters after addressing a meeting of key party officials during his first visit to the state.

Seoul/New Delhi, July 2 : India Tuesday told South Korea there was "enormous goodwill in India" for that country as India's National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon called on South Korean President Park Guen-hye in Seoul.

Menon, on an official visit to Seoul, handed over a personal letter from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to South Korea's first woman president. Manmohan Singh has invited President Park to India, which she has accepted.

The dates are to be worked out through diplomatic channels, said a statement from the Indian embassy at Seoul.

Islamabad/New Delhi, July 2 : Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh are likely to have their first meeting in September in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, a Pakistani media report said. However, Indian officials said they had no information about such a meeting.

The influential Dawn newspaper quoted Sharif's Special Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz as saying that Prime Minister Sharif and Prime Minister Singh were likely to meet in September in New York.

Kabul, June 29 : The US wants to ink the proposed security agreement with Afghanistan within the next three months even as Kabul has suspended talks with Washington over the pact, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Saturday.

"President (Barack) Obama emphasised recently to reach agreement over the security pact within three months until next October," Xinhua quoted Karzai as saying at a joint press conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron.

The Afghan president said the talks for inking the security pact were still suspended, and that Afghanistan has its conditions over the controversial agreement.

Chennai, June 28 : Two senior leaders of the DMK and PMK Friday joined Tamil Nadu's ruling AIADMK.

In a two different statements issued here, the AIADMK said the DMK's Paritihi Ilamvazuthi and the PMK's E. Ponnusamy, a former union minister, met AIADMK chief J. Jayalalithaa at her residence and joined the party.

Ilamvazuthi was a minister in the previous DMK government and was allegedly sidelined in the party following the differences with party treasurer M. K. Stalin. (IANS)

Srinagar, June 28 : Did Congress president Sonia Gandhi praise union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad's 2005-2008 tenure as Jammu and Kashmir chief minister for a reason? Her comments have drawn much attention in the state.

There is speculation that the Congress chief wishes to install Azad as the chief minister, in case the party wins the assembly elections, scheduled for the end of 2014.

Lucknow, June 27 : Accusing the Congress-led UPA government of all-round failure, BJP president Rajnath Singh Thursday said the people were yearning for a change and expressed hope that his party would bag 40 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh in the 2014 general elections.

Addressing a press conference here on the second day of his visit to the state, he also accused the Congress of trying to hoodwink the people with new schemes.

Srinagar, June 25 : Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Tuesday said the UPA government at the centre was helpful and had it not been for the alliance, the mountain state would face difficulties.

"Whenever we have financial requirements we ask the UPA government for support. We get it freely for development of the state and its people," he said while addressing a public meeting in Kishtwar town of Jammu region with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Speaking in the National Assembly Monday, Sharif said Musharraf would be held accountable for subverting the Constitution of Pakistan, stopping judges of higher judiciary from working through illegal orders and taking unconstitutional steps of imposing emergency.